* Withdrawal estimates ranged from 175 bcf to 227 bcf
* Median draw in the Reuters poll was 199 bcf (Adds weather data, background, table)
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas inventory levels on average are expected to fall by 202 billion cubic feet when weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration data are released early Thursday, as more cold winter weather boosted heating demand.
In the weekly Reuters survey of 28 industry traders and analysts, withdrawal estimates for the week ended Feb. 4 ranged from 175 bcf to 227 bcf.
Storage fell an adjusted 180 bcf for the same week last year. The five-year average decline for that week is 159 bcf.
The median draw in the survey was 199 bcf.
Traders said frigid weather in the South last week that froze gas wells and cut more than 3 bcf per day of production for several days forced utilities to rely heavily on storage to meet the surge in heating demand.
In addition, some said strong cash premiums to futures of 10 to 30 cents last week also prompted economic players to pull more gas from storage to cash in on higher physical prices.
The EIA storage report will be issued Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there were 223 heating degree days last week, 14 colder than the previous week, 23 colder than normal and six colder than the same week last year.
Degree days, a measure of departure in the mean daily temperature from 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 Celsius), are used to reflect demand for energy to heat or cool homes and businesses.
In last week's report, for the week ended Jan. 28, overall storage fell 189 bcf, near the Reuters estimate of 190 bcf and well above the year-ago drop of 111 bcf and the five-year average decline for that week of 165.
Total domestic gas inventories slid to 2.353 tcf after heading into the heating season at a record high of 3.84 tcf. (Storage graphic: https://link.reuters.com/hut82k)
The weekly draw drove stocks into a 69 bcf deficit to last year and trimmed the surplus to the five-year average by 24 bcf to just 5 bcf, or nearly flat with the average.
A draw of 165 bcf or more this week would turn the storage surplus to the five-year average into a deficit for the first time in more than a year.
UB